Guide to
Marriage certificates
Collect the evidence for one of the most important days in your
ancestors’ lives and take your research back another generation.
Reveal your family unions
Marriage certificates are key documents
and provide a wealth of information on
two strands of your family tree. They will
help take you back to the next generation
by providing the father’s name
for the bride and groom as well as their
occupations and may lead to surprising
discoveries, for instance, the witnesses
may be unknown family members.
The General Register Office (GRO) in
Southport holds comprehensive records
of all marriages recorded in England and
Wales from 1837 onwards as well as
records for some British Nationals married
overseas.
How to find an index reference
The GRO provides a public index that lists
basic details of every marriage recorded in
England and Wales since 1837. The index is
divided into four quarters for each year and
can be viewed in microfiche format at certain
libraries (see our leaflet ‘Discover your
Family History’).
Marriage indexes are also available to
search on FreeBMD. This free-to-use
website has an almost complete
transcription of the indexes for England and
Wales from 1837 to 1983. You can also
search the indexes for a fee using
commercial websites.
Once you have found the right marriage
record you will need to note the following:
• full name of the person on the certificate
• year and quarter in which the
marriage was registered
• registration district
• volume and page number of the entry
For information on our current prices please refer to the booklet on
GOV.UK 'How to order and Pay for Civil Registration Records' or visit
www.gov.uk/bmdcertificates click 'start now' and select 'Most Customers
Want to Know'
1
When married
This marriage happened on 18
September 1907 so it will be
found in the GRO indexes for the
September quarter for 1907.
2
Name and surname
The names given by the bride and
groom at the time of the marriage.
3
Age
The age given by the bride and
groom is only as accurate as they
believed it to be. If it says ‘Of full
age’ it means that the bride or
groom was over 21.
4
Condition
This shows the marital status of
the parties. Bachelor or spinster
for those who had not married
before; or widower/widow or
marriage dissolved.
Rank or profession
Don’t assume a woman didn’t
have a paid occupation if there is
no entry next to her name. It is
common to find only the groom’s
occupation stated.
Residence
The address given here can be
misleading as some couples used
a temporary address to qualify for
marriage in the parish. Some just
name the parish.
Name and profession
of father
These details are useful for
checking you have the right
certificate and will help you delve
into the lives of your ancestors
1
3
2
4
6
7
5
8
Guide to
marriage certicates
7&8
5
6
Witnesses Always check the witnesses on a marriage certificate as they may reveal
family connections.
Signatures The certificate you receive from the GRO is a copy of the register. Although
it doesn’t show actual signatures it will show if your ancestors could sign their name.
Those that couldn’t marked an ‘x’ here.
Married in… Often the parish church, but you may find a non-conformist chapel here
and confirmation of whether your ancestors married by licence/banns.
It’s quick and easy...
Find that
marriage
Try these five tips if you
can’t find an ancestor’s
nuptials recorded in the
indexes.
TIP 1: Prior to 1875, the
registration of an event was
not compulsory and
therefore some were
missed.
TIP 2: Marriages
sometimes took place after
the birth of the first child.
Widening the timescale
searched may help.
TIP 3: A marriage might
have taken place outside of
England and Wales e.g
Scotland. For Scottish
records, visit www.
scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
TIP 4: The bride may
have been married more
than once – try looking
under the name of the
groom instead.
TIP 5: Bear in mind that
there may never have been
a marriage. Couples often
lived together as man and
wife because divorce was
rare and expensive. Some
did not remarry after their
spouse died.
Jun 23
By Phone
If you don’t wish to order online you can apply by telephone with
a credit/debit card on 0300 123 1837. Lines are open Monday
to Friday 8am – 6pm, Saturday 9am – 1pm.
Application can also be made by post and forms can be obtained
from GRO or downloaded via www.gov.uk/bmdcertificates.
If you apply by phone or post you will be charged an additional
administration charge to cover the extra work of processing
applications not made online.
Refunds
If we are unable to produce the certificate you require, you will
receive a refund of the certificate fee, less a deduction to cover
work incurred. Any additional administration fees which you
may have paid, if not applying online or including a GRO index
reference, are non-refundable. For full details of fees see the
guide: How to Order and Pay for Civil Registration Records.
£
Online
It's quick, easy and cheaper to order a marriage certificate
online, just follow these three steps:
STEP ONE: Visit www.gov.uk/bmdcertificates and click on
‘Start now’. Select ‘Order a certificate online now’ and register
if you have not registered before (you will need an email
address and will be asked to verify your account before you
can start).
STEP TWO: Select ‘Marriage Certificate’ and if you know the
GRO index reference number, click yes. If not click no. You will
need to add the year of the marriage (if you do not have the
index reference number an additional administration fee is
payable and a search will be carried out for you that covers a
three-year period around the year you provide).
STEP THREE: Once your address has been confirmed you will
be asked to provide the information you have got from the
index. You can order a certificate without an index reference
number but you will need to give some identifying information.
You will be charged more for this service to cover the extra
work involved, and it will take longer for your certificate to be
dispatched if using the standard service. You will need to pay
by credit or debit card.
By Post
